Felicia D. Harris enjoys fusing her passion for marketing with an expertise in planning fundraisers.
She leads HiTouch Enterprises, a full-service strategic communications company specializing in offering branding, fundraising, event planning services for business and nonprofit organizations.
“What I love most about what I do is the results that come out of the work that we put in with our clients,” Harris said.
Harris launched her business two years ago while working as the marketing and communications manager for the Urban Affairs Coalition. During her time there, she developed a knack for fundraising by working on UAC’s annual anniversary breakfast. The annual affair currently draws more than 700 attendees and raises more than $400,000.
What started as a part-time business for Harris would morph into a full-time opportunity. She left UAC in March to focus on her business venture.
HiTouch Enterprises first major break came when the Harris team helped the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware plan its annual meeting and awards ceremony that is the organizations major fundraiser.
Prior to Harris coming on board, the most the chamber was able to raise from the event was $70,000. She developed a successful fundraising strategy that enabled the organization to raise $144,000 in year one and more than $170,000 during the second year.
HiTouch Enterprises offers a detailed approach when it comes to helping nonprofit organizations plan their major fundraising events.
“We’ll plan the entire production from beginning to end but we usually start six to eight months or sometimes even a year before the event because the main focus is raising funds,” Harris explained.
“We put together the entire fundraising plan. We come up with language for a communications strategy. We help them cultivate relationships with potential donors.”
HiTouch Enterprises also focuses on developing brand campaign strategies for its clientele.
“For our nonprofits, when we talk about branding, we married the branding with the annual fundraising campaign because we understand how you present the impact of the organization and the work that the organization does has to be packaged right,” said Harris, who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University and a master’s in organizational development from Temple University.
“We do a lot of branding on the campaign level,” she said.
“For six months or on an annual basis we’ll work with companies and nonprofits on their strategic communication to basically help them reach their target goals — whether it’s to raise more money, whether it’s to reach more constituents or whether the goal is to increase sales.”
In addition to leading HiTouch Enterprises, Harris is also the founder and president of the Influencing Action Media, a movement that connects people across networks to role models, career advancement opportunities and community-based resources.
She was named one of Philadelphia’s Most Influential African Americans 10 under 40 in 2017, a Connector and Keeper by Leadership Philadelphia, 2017 Woman of Essence Award recipient by the Metropolitan Continental Society, 2016 Change Maker by the Black Women Leadership Council, 2016 Community Leader by Billy Penn and 2016 Unity in the Community Women’s HerStory Award Recipient.
Read the complete article at: The Philadelphia Tribune
